Drum stick

ABSTRACT

A drum stick having a flexible element attached to the stick adjacent its head, the flexible element having a head attached to its free end.

United States Patent Menard Aug. 29, 1972 [54] DRUM STICK 800,552 9/ 1905 Converse ..84/422- 72 Inventor: Aldor Menard, 4 Goldthwaite 1,237,873 8/ 1917 Deagan ..84/403 Road, wh m Mass 0 5 1,761,245 6/ 1930 Vitto ..84/422 X 22,7 19 l k' ..84 4 22 Filed: July 12, 1971 2 8 17 58 S 22 [21] Appl. No.: 161,567 Primary ExaminerRichard B. Wilkinson Assistant Examiner-Lawrence R. Franklin 52 us. 01 ..84/422 Blodge" [51] Int. C1. ..G10d 13/00 [58] Field of Search ..;...84/422 S ABSTRACT A drum stick having a flexible element attached to the [56] References C'ted stick adjacent its head, the flexible element having a UNITED STATES PATENTS head attached to its free end.

479,636 7/1892 Droop ..84/422 6 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PKTENTED I929 I972 3.6 88 O l 3 ALDAR A. MENARD IN VEN TOR.

DRUM STICK BACKGROUND THE INVENTION In the production of modern music, it is common practice to use drums as at least part of the rhythm section. As a matter of fact, even where other rhythm instruments may notbe used, the drum is usually to be found. For that reason, it is important that the drummer be provided with not only a variety of percussion instruments, but also that he be able to do this in such a way asto fill the background of the music. In other words, he is not only required to provide the beat to the music, but also to provide a broad spectrum of sound which will make the orchestra sound as though many more instruments were present. Although considerable attention has been given in the past to the improvement of drums and other percussion instruments themselves, very little has been done with the striking instrument itself, that is to say, the drum stick. The commonly-used drum stick is capable of striking only one beat at a time. Therefore, its effective use is limited to highly-skilled drummers who are capable of producing a large number of beats in a given length of time. These and other difficulties experienced with the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.

It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide a drum stick capable of producing a plurality of beats for each stroke of the stick.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a drum stick capable of producing a broad sound instead of a single tap.

A further object of the present invention is the provision of a drum stick whose use will permit even an unskilled drummer to provide a filling sound for orchestra music.

It is another object of the instant invention to provide a drum stick permitting the production of a ruff with only a single stroke of the stick.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a drum stick having secondary striking members which are capable of a long life of useful service.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In general, the invention consists of a drum stick having an elongated main body with a head at one end. A flexible element is attached to the main body adjacent the head and has on its free end a secondary head.

More specifically, two oppositely-located flexible elements are provided, each with its own head. The head on the flexible element is located a substantial distance beyond-the head on the main body of the stick.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The character of the invention, however, may be best understood by reference to one of its structural forms, as illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a drum stick constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a portion of the drum stick,

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line III-Ill of FIG. 2, and

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an insert used in the drum stick.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring first to FIG. 1, wherein are best shown the general features of the invention, the drum stick, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, has in the usual way an elongated main body 11 formed of hickory or other suitable material. It is provided at one end with a tapered portion 12 on'which is mounted a nylon head 13.

Attached to the main body 11 adjacent the head 13 is a flexible element 14 whose free end is provided with a nylon bead-or ovoid head 15. In a similar manner, a second flexible element 16 is attached to the main body and is provided at its free end with a head 17. Flexible elements 14 and 16 are connected to the main body on diametrically-opposite sides of its circular cross-section.

Referring now to FIG. 2, it can be seen that a transverse bore 18 is provided through the main body 11 of the stick and that the flexible elements 14 and 16 form part of an integral strand of a tough, wear-resistant material, such as nylon. The first flexible element 14 is provided with a sleeve 19 which extends from adjacent the head 15 to adjacent the main body 11, while the second flexible element 16 is similarly provided with a sleeve 21 which extends from adjacent its head 17 to adjacent the main body 11. Both sleeves 19 and 21 are formed on an elastomer material, such as rubber.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show the manner in which the heads 15 and 17 are attached respectively to their flexible elements 14 and 16. Because the bore 18 is necessarily much smaller than either of the heads, it is necessary to assemble the drum stick by passing the flexible element through the bore 18 and then applying at least one of the heads afterwards. The head 15 is ovoid and is provided along its long axis with an insert 22 through which the end of the flexible element 14 is inserted and held. The flexible element is provided at its end with an arrow or cone-shaped head 23 and with a protuberance 24 spaced from the head 23. As is evident in FIG. 4, the insert 22 is provided with a cluster of semi-flexible fingers 25 which are cammed or spread outwardly when the end of the flexible element 14 is inserted into the head 15. In other words, the conical shape of the head 23 on the flexible element forces the fingers apart and then they close around the element at the base of the head to lock it in place. At the same time, the protuberance 24 prevents excessive longitudinal movement of the flexible elements relative to the head 15 after the two have been assembled.

The spacing relationship between the main head 12 of the drum stick and the secondary heads 15 and 17 is quite important. As is evident in FIG. 3, the inner bases of the heads 15 and 17 are located in approximately the same plane transversely of the main body 11 as the outer end of the head 12. In other words, when the drum stick is suspended from its butt end, the flexible elements 14 and 16 hang downwardly beside the main body 11 and the heads 15 and 17 hang below the head 12 by an amount equal to their lengths.

The operation of the invention will now be readily understood in view of the above description. The drum stick is held in the conventional manner and is used to strike a percussion surface such as a drum head in the conventional manner. Instead of a single tap being emitted from each stroke of the drum stick, however, the three heads 12, 15, and 17 strike the drum surface at slightly different times, giving a broad sound similar to a three-beat rufi. When the sticks are used to produce a drum beat in the conventional manner, the sound is the equivalent of three drummers playing at the same time. When a drummer uses a pair of these drum sticks to accompany an orchestra, the effect is to give greater filling behind the orchestra. One result of this is that a less experienced drummer is able to give the impression that his technique is better than it really is. At the same time, the sound is an unusual one that lends itself to certain types of music and produces an unusual sound that cannot be produced by any other type of percussion instrument. Although the manner in which the device operates is not thoroughly understood, it is supposed that the nylon strand making up the flexible elements 14 and 16 gives the auxiliary portion of the drum stick a flexibility and strength,

' while the elastomer sleeves 19 and 21 give them a spring-like resiliency. The manner in which the flexible element is attached to the heads 15 and 17 assures that the head does not become separated from the resilient element, despite the tremendous forces that are brought to bear due to centrifugal force and the whipping action which takes place. The use of a substance such as nylon for the flexible element and the head as well as the insert 22 and the heads 23 insures not only strength to resist these forces, but also the long-wearing characteristic which is necessary to give a prolonged life.

It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction of the invention without departing from the material spirit thereof. It is not, however, desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein shown and described, but it is desired to include all such as properly come within the scope claimed.

The invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent 1. A hand-operated drum stick, comprising a. an elongated main body having a head at one end,

b. an elongated flexible element connected at one end to the main body adjacent the head, and

c. a head attached to the other end of the flexible element.

2. A drum stick as recited in claim 1, wherein a second flexible element is connected to the main body at a point opposite the connection of the first-mentioned flexible element thereto, a second head being attached to the free end of the said second flexible element.

3. A drum stick as recited in claim 2, wherein the first-mentioned and the second flexible elements are integral and extend through a transverse bore in the main body.

4. A drum stick as recited in claim 3, wherein the two heads are located a substantial distance beyond the h d th 'n bod X dru m s tick as recited in claim 3, wherein each flexible element is provided with a sleeve formed of elastomer material extending from its head to the main body.

6. A drum stick as recited in claim 3, wherein the flexible elements and the heads are formed of a tough, wear-resistant plastic material. 

1. A hand-operated drum stick, comprising a. an elongated main body having a head at one end, b. an elongated flexible element connected at one end to the main body adjacent the head, and c. a head attached to the other end of the flexible element.
 2. A drum stick as recited in claim 1, wherein a second flexible element is connected to the main body at a point opposite the connection of the first-mentioned flexible element thereto, a second head being attached to the free end of the said second flexible element.
 3. A drum stick as recited in claim 2, wherein the first-mentioned and the second flexible elements are integral and extend through a transverse bore in the main body.
 4. A drum stick as recited in claim 3, wherein the two heads are located a substantial distance beyond the head on the main body.
 5. A drum stick as recited in claim 3, wherein each flexible element is provided with a sleeve formed of elastomer material extending from its head to the main body.
 6. A drum stick as recited in claim 3, wherein the flexible elements and the heads are formed of a tough, wear-resistant plastic material. 